Lemongrass Grilled Pork Chops

Ever feel stuck in a rut during grilling season? We often do, but the desire to use the grill often wins out over the lack of perceived options.  Since we don’t get to spend a lot of time at home these days, we tend to focus on how we can make the most of our weekends and be as lazy as possible at the same time.  I’m sure most of you feel the same.  However, this year our local farmer’s market has provided a shot in the arm to our usual Sunday night cookouts.

Since moving to Richmond just before the startup of the season, we’ve been frequenting the South of the James farmer’s market.  There we found a great local meat vendor – Ault’s Family Farm.  I admit, they caught my eye with their sign marketing pastured pork fed on non-GMO grains.  Did my eyes deceive?  The allure was too strong; I’d come to the market for veggies but found myself leaving with a pair of beautiful, bone-in pork loin chops.

I knew that I wanted to grill them, and I also knew that I didn’t want to give them the same dry rub treatment that I had our steaks of the prior week.  Enter the struggle with laziness.  I drowsed on the sofa that Saturday afternoon, daydreaming about grilled pork. I remembered a savory, grilled pork dish that I used to order on occasion at Just Pho – a favorite restaurant of ours when we lived in Athens. It was marinated with lemongrass, and it was aromatic, sweet, salty, savory.  It was a pork dish that arrested every part of the palate and demanded attention.  I knew then what I was setting out to recreate.

Lemongrass is a legitimate grass – not in name only. It is used as an herb in many cuisines, particularly in Asian cooking. The flavor and fragrance have a delicate citrus quality with an earthy, spicy undertone reminscent of ginger.  Lemongrass is purported to have many health benefits, most notably as a cancer-fighting herb.  It also is said to reduce hypertension, lessen toxins in the blood – acting as a diuretic, and aid digestion.  It is also known as citronella, so if its scent is familiar, you might have some candles bearing its fragance on your patio!  Lemongrass is simple to prepare.  If the stalks are whole, the root and green parts are trimmed away.  Any tough outer leaves may also be trimmed.  The remaining stalk can be finely sliced. Or, you can smash it with the flat side of your knife asyou would garlic, then mince the smashed lemongrass.

In the end, I came up with this simple marinade.  You do a bit of chopping and mixing, then bathe your pork chops in it and let them rest while you heat the grill.  I won’t say that I perfectly recreated the chops from Just Pho, but they were excellent.  The flavor of the marinade paired with the fresh pork in a gentle duetto; they performed in concert perfectly.  With some rice and some grilled spring onions and asparagus, we had a harmonious ensemble.

I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging # 233 (hosted by Palachinka),  highlighting the star of the marinade: lemongrass.

Lemongrass Grilled Pork Chops

• 1 T soy or fish sauce
• 3 T peanut oil
• 2 stalks lemongrass, smashed then chopped (about 3 T)
• 1 1/2 T rice vinegar
• 2 T honey
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 2-4 thick cut pork loin chops

In a non-reactive bowl, whisk all ingredients together until they are evenly combined.  Pour the marinade over the  chops and let them marinate for about 1 hour, making sure to reserve the marinade for basting the chops on the grill.  You can marinate for longer in the refrigerator if you wish, or do it for an hour on the counter so that the chops come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare the grill and heat the charcoal. When hot, grill the pork chops until they reach an internal temperature of 165°.  Brush the pork chops with the reserved marinade while they grill.  Remove from grill when done, and let rest for five minutes before slicing or serving.

Serves 2-4.

Spice Crusted Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce

I’m willing to bet that most of you thought I forgot how to blog.  Well, I didn’t forget how – I just haven’t had much of a chance to do so.  Starting a little bit after my most recent post last autumn, I started a new job – a new job that requires me to travel out of town Monday – Friday each week.  As a result, I only have time on the weekends to cook.  I won’t lie.  I haven’t done much cooking on those weekends.  The small, country kitchen sans dishwasher coupled with not enough time at home didn’t exactly appeal to my domestic sensibilities.  Didn’t, I say, because I have moved into new digs this month.  I now have the nicest kitchen I’ve ever lived with.  I also live close to one of the largest farmer’s markets in Richmond (South of the James!), and I have a dishwasher.  A fancy, new dishwasher that begs for dishes to wash. Who am I to deny it that right?  Not to mention we have picked up a new grill just in time for grilling season.

The brass tacks: I’m excited by this kitchen, and I am dying to use it when I am home.  I figure, with a little bit of juggling, I can get a post up here about once a week.  So, let’s dispense with the explanatory chatter and get on with the food.

Last weekend we thought we would celebrate the first full-on meal cooked in this kitchen by grilling up some steaks.  My husband, being an eager grillmaster, was ready to work some charcoal magic out back.  I know a lot of purists out there like their steak rather plain, but I like to gussy mine up a bit.  Nothing too fancy, but I like a flavorful spice rub, liberally applied on the steaks and grilled to form a nice crust.  I also love chimichurri sauce, which brightens up the heaviness of steak and tastes likes spring.  Chimichurri sauce is Argentinean in origin, and is a parsley, garlic, and oil based sauce served with beef.  This is an opportunity to use your best olive oil.  Since the sauce isn’t cooked, the olive oil flavor is going to be prominent.

To keep the spring flavors going, we grilled asparagus to go on the side of our steak.  If you’re a fan of Penzey’s, I urge you to brush some fresh asparagus with olive oil, sprinkle on some Mural of Flavor, and grill it until tender.  Mural of Flavor is salt free, citrusy, and a great compliment to asparagus.  Yum.

Spice Crusted Steaks with Chimichurri Sauce

• 4 NY strip steaks, about 9-10 oz. each

for the dry rub

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp  coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• dash allspice
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp black pepper

for the chimichurri sauce

• 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
• ½ bunch cilantro
• 3 garlic cloves
• ¼ C onion
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
• pinch of cayenne
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 T red wine vinegar
• ½ C olive oil (use the good stuff!)

Combine all spices for the dry rub in a small bowl and mix well.  Remove the steaks from cold storage and press about a teaspoon of the dry rub onto each side of each steak.  Let the steaks come to room temperature before grilling.

Meanwhile, make the chimichurri sauce.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients except for the olive oil.  Pulse until the herbs are very finely chopped.  Remove the herb mixture from the processor to a serving bowl.  Pour the olive oil into the bowl and stir to combine well.  Do not add the oil to the processor, as it will emulsify and become thick and cloudy– like a salad dressing.

Grill the steaks over direct heat for the first five to six minutes of cooking to form a nice crust, then move to indirect heat to finish to your desired doneness.  A good chart to reference temperatures for steak doneness can be found here.  Let steaks rest about 5 minutes before serving to allow juices to redistribute.  To serve, plate the steaks and spoon chimichurri sauce over them.

Serves 4.

Spicy Carrot Soup with Cilantro-Lime Puree

It’s that time of year, friends. There’s a singular nip in the air most mornings. My cat wants to spend every waking moment roaming down by the river. I bought a long sleeved shirt and broke out an extra blanket for the bed. Finally, today, I turned the heat on. Autumn is here, and it’s soup time.

It’s also cold season. My husband caught a cold and passed it to me. I promptly passed it back to him, worse than I received it. Yes, soup was needed in this house. Still feeling lethargic, I wanted to make a soup that was easy, tasty, and packed with nutrients. Carrots, then! Carrots, besides bearing bright-orange beta carotinoids, are chock full of vitamins A, C (goodbye, colds!), K, potassium, thiamin, niacin, fiber, plus other good stuff. Coupled with ginger, which has anti-inflammatory properties and boosts immune system performance, I figured the carrots in this soup would hit my cold with a knockout punch.  I threw in some other warming spices, including a healthy amount of my garam masala to give the soup a gentle, warming spice. Yum! To contrast with the aromatic spices in the soup, I made a simple cilantro lime puree to drizzle on top. It was great, but if you’re not feeling the effort, just sprinkle on some chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime.  Or drizzle on some sesame oil.  Whatever speaks to you.

The cilantro-lime purée spoke to me.

Both soup and purée tasted great too. I liked the minimal effort they took, and I loved getting to break out my immersion blender. Do you have one of those? Because if not, you must get one. I have had mine since last Christmas. I kept putting off using it, assuming it would be difficult to clean or a pain to use. Nay, nay – I was wrong. It was easy, it was fun, and it was so easy to clean. If you have one, use it. Use it often. If you don’t, then buy one. They range from $30-$100. It’s worth every penny. I use this Cuisinart (a $30 model), and I am already planning more soups just so I can use it more.

Since I figured this won’t be the only cold I get this season, I made a great big pot of this soup and froze half of it.  The great thing about too much soup is getting to put some away for when you need it again.  And next time, I’ll have nothing to do but warm it on the stove.

Spicy Carrot Soup with Cilantro-Lime Puree

• 1 T peanut oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1″ piece of ginger, grated
• 4 C water
• 1 1/2 lbs carrots
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp garam masala

Wash carrots and peel if using conventional, non-organic carrots.  Cut the carrots in 1″ pieces and set aside.  Heat peanut oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot, add the onion, ginger, and garlic.  Saute until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring occasionally to keep the garlic from burning.  When the onions are soft, add the carrots to the pot and pour in the water.  Add the salt, red pepper, soy sauce, garam masala, lime juice and sesame oil– reserving the lime zest.  Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the soup stays at an active simmer.  Cook this way for 20-30 minutes, until the carrots are easily pierced with a fork and soft.  Remove from heat.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup.  I like to leave a bit of texture but remove any chunks of solid vegetable.  If you want a silkier texture, puree the soup in batches in a conventional blender.  When the soup is blended, stir in the lime zest and taste for seasoning.  Add salt, if needed, until the carrot flavor is bright.  Serve drizzled with cilantro-lime puree.

Serves 4.

Cilantro-Lime Purée

• 1 1/2 C cilantro leaves, washed and packed
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 2 T peanut or other neutral tasting oil
• pinch of salt

Using an immersion blender, purée the ingredients together until they are smooth.  Add a bit more oil or water as needed to achieve a thin consistency that is easily drizzled.

Makes about 1 C of purée.

Grilled Pork Tacos

I promised when I posted the fresh pineapple salsa recipe last week that the recipe for the pork tacos I served it with would be forthcoming.  Alas, I do not get to talk about scurvy again in this post.  However, I do get to talk about pig, and that is always a delight.  I chose pork for our Fourth of July Fiesta over the ubiquitous beef and the enduring chicken after I had some outstanding carnitas at some hole in the wall Mexican restaurant in Christiansburg, VA.  I don’t trust myself to replicate the delight that is carnitas yet, but I did know that I could make some excellent pork tacos.

I decided to use pork tenderloin for the tacos, because the medallions slice into taco-perfect rounds.  It’s a cut that holds up to the heat of the grill beautifully, staying moist and yielding even after being blasted by the heat.  I created a thick marinade for the tenderloin and let it hang out in the fridge while I prepared salsas, guacamole, and other sides for the meal.  My husband played grillmaster while I fried tostones (recipe forthcoming – see how every one of these Fiesta recipes has another teaser?).  The marinade is simple to put together.  You whizz it in the food processor and let it form a thick paste, then slap all of it into a large plastic bag along with the meat.  It’s a trade off for the long ingredient list.  I assure, you, though, that the list is worth hunting through your spice cabinet to find the ingredients.  You get to use some of those spices that you bought for that one recipe a while back and in return they bless your tastebuds with joy.

We use a propane grill at present, so I used the marinade to imbue the pork with a smoky flavor redolent of charcoal, pit barbecue, and jerk seasoning.  Not a bad deal, right?  I would say that if I had a do-over I would use pineapple vinegar in the recipe instead of red wine vinegar.  Sam, over at The Spamwise Chronicles, sent me a recipe for pineapple vinegar and I can’t wait to make it.  It uses none of the flesh and all of the discarded peels – an awesome way to eliminate wasting any of the pineapple!

Grilled Pork Tacos

• a 1 lbs pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1/4 C onion, chopped
• 1/4 C fresh pineapple, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 chipotles in adobo sauce, sliced with 1 T of sauce reserved
• 1 T red wine vinegar
• 1/3 C olive oil
• 1 T cumin
• 1 tsp pimentón (smoked paprika)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients except for the pork tenderloin.  Pulse until a thick paste forms.  Place the pork tenderloin in a large plastic bag, and pour the marinade over the pork.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour before grilling.  After an hour, grill the tenderloin over medium heat for 35-40 minutes, until the center of the tenderloin registers 150º.  Remove the tenderloin from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.  Carve the tenderloin into thin medallions and serve with pineapple salsa, guacamole, tortillas, and a little fresh cilantro.  The meat refrigerates well and makes a delicious meal the following day if you have leftovers – no reheating needed.

Serves 4.

How to Make Great Guacamole

Guacamole is a food I am often very picky about.  Some are too smooth, some near blended, others too bland. Some just aren’t chip friendly.  Texture ends up being the trait that makes it or breaks it as a great dip for me.  If the flavor is lacking, I can squeeze over some lemon or lime and add some salt.  But, if the texture doesn’t have any assertiveness to back it up, if the guacamole is just a dead thing on the palate– I can’t eat it.  The best guacamole I ever had was at a New Year’s Eve party several years ago.  The woman who made it had a secret weapon ingredient: garlic salt.  Who knew?  It certainly worked, though.  Hers was also the first I’d seen with visible onion and tomatoes added.  This combined to make a fantastic guacamole, and I’ve been chasing after recreating that for quite a while.  I also use lemon juice instead of the traditional lime.  I like the sharper flavor it imparts to the dish.

Achieving what I find to be great guacamole texture isn’t difficult, but it is tricky.  Great guac is a little chunky, but the dip still holds itself together.  I achieve this by cubing the first avocado and mashing it up with a fork.

Next, I mix in the other ingredients.

Then, I cube the final avocado and toss that throughout.

This leaves the dip tasting well-blended, but it still has toothsome chunks to enjoy.  Guacamole is a delicious late spring appetizer or snack option, as avocados are in season and you can get all of the ingredients while they are fresh and at their most flavorful.  Serve it with your favorite chips or  toasted pita points.

Guacamole

• 2 avocados, cubed, one set aside
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 serrano pepper, minced
• small handful of cilantro, chopped
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• pinch of cumin
• pinch of ground ancho chili (optional)

In a medium bowl, or serving bowl, mash one half of the avocado cubes with a fork.  Squeeze half the lemon juice over this.  Add in the onion, tomato, serrano, cilantro, and garlic.  Mix all of this well with the mashed avocado.  Add in the remaining avocado cubes.  Squeeze the remaining lemon juice over this. Season with the salt, garlic salt, black pepper, cumin, and ground ancho chili.  Toss all of this together very well, in effect dressing the larger cubes of vegetable with the mashed avocado.  Chill well and serve.

Serves 6-8.

BBA #3: Bagels (and a topping recipe)

Since embarking on the Bread Baker’s Apprentice challenge, I have really been looking forward to making the bagels.  Before I moved to Virginia, I had a small problem– shall we say– with bagels.  In particular, everything bagels are irresistable to me.  I love them.  I’ll eat them plain, buttered, with raspberry jam.  Nothing compares to a bagel sandwich made with those savory little toppings crusting the bagel.  Athens afforded me many opportunities to eat them.  My favorite coffee shop sold great ones, Big City Bread made good ones, and Zim’s Bagel Bakery had perfected them.  When my husband and I visit Tallahassee every year, we always seek out Bagelheads for a bagel sandwich served with crunchy cole slaw on our way out of town.  Now, Zim’s has closed and I have moved.  I thought great bagels would be easier to find, but there are no good bagels that I have found or tried up here yet.  I vowed they would be one of the first things I made in my new kitchen.  Before I got the chance, though, I signed up to bake my way through this book, and one of the major motivations to do so was that bagel recipe.  

Now that I’ve made the bagel recipe, let me say that I recommend it strongly.  The bagels are perfect.  They are chewy, they are flavorful, and they are easy.  They do take a bit of time, but I would ask that you not be put off by that.  Most of the time is spent waiting, not working.  I decided to begin my bagels this past Saturday evening, after returning from a quick overnight trip to Blacksburg.  I was a little tired, but I really wanted to have these available for Sunday’s lunch.  We usually skip breakfast on Sundays, so I figured this would make the perfect meal.  My husband adores everything bagels as much as I do, so this was a treat he was really anticipating.

I started by making the sponge according to Reinhart’s directions.   I took a large mixing bowl, and mixed the yeast into the flour.  I did not use high-gluten flour, so I added 1 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten to each cup of bread flour in the sponge; this came out to 4 teaspoons.  I added the vital wheat gluten to the measuring cup before scooping out the flour, so that the flour would equal 1 cup minus 1 teaspoon of actual bread flour.  I added room temperature water, covered the sponge in plastic wrap, and left it for two hours.

After two hours, the sponge had doubled in size, and it was bubbly and foamy.  It did not collapse when I tapped the bowl on the counter, but degassed very quickly when I poked it.  Close enough.  I added the additional yeast to the sponge and the remaining flour.  I added vital wheat gluten to this bread flour in the same way that I did for the sponge.  I also added salt and malt powder.  I mixed per the recipe directions, adding the final 3/4 C of flour after the dough made a ball.  I then removed the dough from the bowl and proceeded to knead.  As usual, I kneaded by hand.  The dough quickly reached the correct temperature, but failed to windowpane after 15 minutes of kneading.  I continued kneading for another 15 minutes before my dough passed the windowpane test.  The dough also stayed very tacky throughout much of the kneading, so I continued adding flour until the texture became satiny and did not stick to my hands.  I probably added another cup of flour in this manner.  I am not sure of the exact measurement, as I add the flour very slowly– a small handful at a time.  

At this point, I divide the dough up with my bench scraper, shaped the dough into rolls, and let it proof under a damp towel for 20 minutes.  When I returned the rolls had risen a bit and were beautiful.  I lined two baking pans; for one I used my Silpat, and the other I used parchment paper.  I misted each with spray oil, and shaped my bagels.  I placed 6 bagels on each pan, covered them with plastic wrap, and let them hang out for another 2o minutes.  After the time had passed, I filled a large mixing bowl with room temperature water and dropped a bagel in.  It floated, so I knew they were ready to be retarded in the fridge.  This was the most punctual dough I had worked with yet.  

Sunday morning, I awoke and removed my bagels from the fridge. They had risen just a bit overnight, but they looked great and were ready to boil. 

I boiled the bagels for 1 minute per side in water with a tablespoon of baking soda added.  I ended up boiling three bagels at a time so as not to crowd the pot.  As soon as I removed the bagels, I sprinkled on my everything bagel topping (recipe at the bottom of the page).  When all the bagels had been boiled, I baked them on two racks in the center of my oven at 500º.  After 5 minutes I lowered the temperature as directed. After another 5 minutes, I didn’t feel like the bagels were quite baked enough, so I let them bake another five minutes.  They came out a beautiful golden brown.  

This was definitely my favorite recipe so far, and the everything bagel topping I made tasted just like those in my favorite bagel shops.  Below, I have the quick recipe for the quantities needed to top a dozen bagels.  It’s not much in terms of a recipe, but it will make your bagels taste divine. 

Everything  Bagel Topping

• 4 tsp poppy seeds
• 4 tsp sesame seeds
• 4 tsp dried garlic flakes
• 4 tsp dried onion flakes
• 4 tsp coarse grained kosher or sea salt

Mix all ingredients together well in a small bowl.  Use to liberally top bagels as soon as they emerge from their water bath.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.  Will keep up to two months.

Tops 12 large bagels or 24 mini bagels.

This is some more yeasty goodness I’m sending over to Yeastspotting.

The Bread Baker’s Apprentice challenge was developed by Nicole of Pinch My Salt. You can see what we’re baking this week at our Flickr group, on Twitter (#BBA), or check out the challenge page.

Baked Spanish Rice

Wow, I have been really lazy about updating ye olde blog lately, haven’t I?  I just sat and flipped through pictures from my camera and realized that I’ve done some cooking.  I’ve taken some pictures.  I just haven’t written about it.  So, it’s time to play a little catch up.  Plus, I promise that for every exciting bread of Peter Reinhart’s that I post pictures and commentary on, I will have at least one original recipe of my own.  Seeing that I have a bread ready to go for tomorrow, it’s time to hit the photo archives and present you with something good.

And, something good is definitely what this rice is.  I served it with chicken, roasted in the oven and sweetly spiced with pimentón, garlic, lemon, and honey.  The recipe for that is forthcoming also, but this rice was uncommonly good.  I took a little inspiration for dinner that night from Peter’s blog Kalofagas.  He had posted this simple roast chicken with baked rice.  It looked amazing!  I am a devotee of anything rice, but I have never eaten it baked.

Needless to say, I was intrigued by the idea and shelved it for future use.  So, several months later I’m in my kitchen, I have this chicken, and I’m building a meal around it.  I wanted to serve something on the side that played into the bold flavors of the spicing on it and stand up to it.  I also wanted to be lazy and get away with only serving chicken and a side dish because American Idol was coming on, and I wasn’t about to miss it.  Might this be the night for baked rice?  Well, maybe, but I wanted more than just baked rice.  I started thinking about what would be great with that smoky, sweet, slightly spicy chicken.  Baked Spanish rice.  This rice is full of flavor and is terribly, terribly easy.  It can hang out in the oven right next to the chicken and just bake away happily, getting crusty on top and fluffy below.  Seriously.  Try it.  It will enhance a lazy chicken meal with minimal effort!

Baked Spanish Rice

• 1 C rice
• 2 C hot chicken broth
• 1/4 C chopped yellow onion
• 1/4 C bell pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6-8 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 10 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp ground ancho chili
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)

Preheat your oven to 425º.  Add 6-8 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the bottom of  a six-quart casserole or baking dish.  Make sure it covers the bottom.  Next, add the rice, onion, garlic, tomatoes and bell pepper. Stir to coat with the olive oil.  Then, pour in the hot stock.  Season with the oregano, ground ancho pepper, cumin, and the salt and pepper.  Stir well, to combine all flavors and ensure an even texture.  Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour.  If you are baking next to chicken and have to reduce the heat, the cooking time may be longer.  Make sure all liquid is evaporated.  Before serving, fluff with a fork and garnish with parsley.

Serves 4.

 

 

Easy, Classic Spaghetti Sauce

 

Easy, Classic Spaghetti Sauce

 

 

I feel a little ashamed posting two spaghetti recipes back-to-back.  But, I’ve got neither the time to blog nor the time to cook lately to provide me with an alternative.  Today marks the third morning I’ve woken up in our new house.  After packing my kitchen up  completely over a week ago, I have been jonesing to get back in a kitchen and make something.  Anything, really.  So, on Monday I set to unpacking our living room and kitchen first off.  I may still be pulling my clothes out of boxes, but I am going to have my pots and pans!  The challenge after unpacking then became groceries.  I had donated all my non-perishable food to the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank before I moved, and I brought only my spice collection with me.  Upon arrival, I discovered that we have one grocery store in town, a small Food Lion, so I will be traveling 20-30 miles every week to get my shopping done.  Meanwhile, The Hubz was requesting spaghetti for dinner.  This was a meal I felt confident our little grocery could deliver.  

Now, spaghetti can be sauced with a million things, but I like classic, tomatoey red sauce when I crave “spaghetti.”  And, to this end, I prefer canned tomatoes.  If you choose the right ones, you’ll end up with a sauce that’s perfectly thick and “smooth-enough” for the standards outlined in Mark Bittman’s article.   I like to use crushed tomatoes– they require zero effort, and they make a perfect sauce.  As usual, this sauce comes together very simply, and it doesn’t require a lot of work.  It’s tomatoey, garlicky, and has just a touch of zing.  It will keep in the refrigerator, should you have leftovers, for three days.  It will freeze, as well.  The recipe makes enough sauce to dress one pound of pasta.  

Easy, Classic Spaghetti Sauce

• 1 lbs spaghetti, cooked according to package directions (use gluten free pasta to make recipe gluten free)
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 C chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• fat pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 T fresh basil, chiffonade
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

While waiting for your pasta water to boil, heat a a big splash (a couple of tablespoons) of olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, and lower the heat.  Sprinkle salt over the onions to keep them from sticking to the pan.  Sweat the onion for 3-4 minutes, then add the garlic and the red pepper flakes and saute for a minute.  Be careful not to burn the garlic.  Pour in the tomato sauce, and add the oregano and the sugar.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper.  Stir to combine well.  Lower the heat to simmer the sauce while your spaghetti cooks.  Simmer, stirring occasionally.  Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to your favor.  When pasta is cooked al dente, drain it and place it in a serving dish.  Pour the sauce over the spaghetti and garnish with the fresh basil.

Serves 4.

 

 

Fried Ravioli, Revisted

When I heard that March 20 was National Ravioli Day, I was immediately reminded of one of my first blog posts: Ravioli di Bruschetta.  (n.b.: for a complete listing of all the national food holidays, check out this website). It was a great dish, and I made it last year because I had heard the same bit of trivia.  I am not one to eat ravioli very often, because I detest ricotta cheese and most other people eating ravioli dream of an ooey-gooey delight.  However, I once choked down a very acceptable fried ravioli at a little Italian restaurant– now closed– in Savannah.  I suspect the main reason I liked the stuff was the fact that it was deep-fried and served with a zesty tomato sauce.  This ravioli dish was different. I selected a chicken-filled pre-packaged ravioli, and I sauced with a bruschetta-like fresh tomato topping.  

So, here I am: one year later, thinking of that early post, and craving toasted ravioli all over again.  I realized that it didn’t even have a picture.  This meant it had to be made!  And photographed!  And updated!  There aren’t a whole lot of changes, but I did use an egg and milk blend for battering.  I also added a bit more garlic.  Shouldn’t “MORE GARLIC” become the food blogger refrain, much like “MORE COWBELL?”

The original post is here, for historical purposes.

Ravioli di bruschetta, Redux

• One package of your favorite ravioli, cooked according to directions (if you’re really industrious, you could make your own).  
• 1/2 C milk
• 1 egg
• 2 C bread crumbs
• olive oil (not extra virgin) for frying
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, or assorted herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, and marjoram
• 1/4 C parmesan cheese, grated
• 8-10 Amorosa or Campari tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 T basil chiffonade, plus some extra chiffonade for garnish
•  Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (use the good stuff)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Cook ravioli in salted water according to package directions.

Meanwhile, make the tomato topping: chop and seed the tomatoes, and mix in a bowl with the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and basil.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well, and let it rest so the flavors can develop.   

When the ravioli have finished cooking, drain well, drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking,  and set aside on a plate to cool for 10 minutes.  Heat an inch of olive oil in a 12 inch skillet.  While the oil heats, set up your frying station.  In a bowl, beat the egg and milk together.  In a second bowl add the bread crumbs, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.  Mix together well with a fork.  When the oil has heated, dredge the ravioli first in the egg mixture – shaking the excess off – then the bread crumbs.  Repeat if necessary.  Shake off the extra bread crumbs to prevent them from burning in the oil.  Fry the ravioli in single layers until golden brown.  Then, remove with a slotted spoon or spatula to a plate lined with a paper towel.  

To serve, place a layer of the ravioli in bowls and spoon the tomato sauce on top.  Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese and basil.  

Serves 4.

Tangy Mushroom Barley Soup

You may have seen a blurb on the news Sunday or Monday about seven inches of snow getting dumped on north Georgia. No? Well, seven inches of snow got dumped on north Georgia. I know. Maybe you live in Buffalo and get six foot deep drifts annually. Maybe you live in Chicago and it snows all the time. I am sure that our measly seven inches is barely impressive, and I am sure that many of you have been without power for more than 1 day because of bad weather. (I’ve been through that before; growing up in Savannah a hurricane could knock out power for days). But, I am going to whine anyway. It was cold. It snowed. I have more fingers on my hands than times my eyes have seen snow. I live in the South. My town doesn’t have snow plows and has to get salt for roads imported from other towns. Snow, in the South, sucks.

You may wonder what this has to do with food. Well, plenty. By the time my power came back on and I defrosted, I was hungry. I wanted a hot shower, and I wanted hot food. So, I promptly got some takeout. People, the need was urgent. After I felt revived, though, I was ready to make good use of that electricity and make something delicious and warming. Something like soup.

Soup it was. I came up with this recipe in an effort to clean a lot of stuff out my pantry: porcini mushrooms, paprika (mostly used up), chicken stock, shallots, barley. I have lots of good stuff squirreled away, but I’ve got to get it used. This urgency, as you may or may not know, is because I am moving to Virginia in a few months.

And yes, that means I am going to have to deal with evil, nasty snow much more often. I have got one hell of a snow-preparation list going, believe you me. Next time the power goes out, I’ll be firing up the party generator. And, the next time I deal with snow, there will almost certainly be a pot of this for dinner. This soup warms the body and the tastebuds. It’s tangy, filling, and completely delicious. Served with crusty bread, this makes a fantastic meal.

Feel like making a Hungarian themed meal out of this? Make some Hungarian Cucumber Salad as a side.

Tangy Mushroom Barley Soup

• 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
• 1 1/2 C water
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 C shallots (2-3), chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 C sliced cremini mushrooms (about 4 oz.)
• 1 C pearled barley
• a splash of white wine
• 1 T dill
• 1 T paprika 
• 1 1/2 C water or stock (chicken, vegetable, or mushroom)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 T soy sauce
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Boil a cup and a half of water and soak the dried porcini mushrooms in it.  Start by sauteing the base of the soup.  Heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat.  Saute the shallots until they are translucent, then add the garlic and continue sauteing until it takes on some light color.  Add in the mushrooms and brown them – let them release water, let the water cook off, and let them get tender and brown – about 3-5 minutes.  Drizzle in a little bit more olive oil and brown the barley.  Stir frequently for the next three minutes until the barley is toasted, then deglaze the pan with a splash of wine.  Cook the wine off.  

Drain the porcini mushrooms reserving the liquid, chop them roughly, and toss them in the pot.  Add in the dill, the paprika, the bay leaf, and the soy sauce.  Season with some salt and some black pepper.  Pour in the remaining stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat.  Simmer uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until the barley is done.  Add more stock or water at the end to achieve the consistency you want, and check the seasonings to see if you need more salt or pepper.

Serve with lemon wedges and a sprinkling of fresh dill.

Serves 3-4.